I Am Broken
by The Author Haru
Summary: Whenever Pearl visits the strawberry field, she comes home dazed, spacey, and distracted. But...why? She was a warrior in the Earth rebellion who fought in many battles much more terrible than the one that took place there. What is it that about this battle in particular that spooks her so much? And why won't she talk to anyone about it? ON HIATUS DUE TO NEW EPISODES
1. Legends

**The Author Haru: Hey everyone! I've successfully started a new fanfic! This story was actually only supposed to be a writing exercise, but I'm enjoying it too much not to continue it.**

 **Pearl: So this story features me and who, exactly?**

 **Haru: You ask, but do you really want to know the answer?**

 **Steven: Oh, oh, oh, I do!**

 **Haru: *grinning mischievously* You'll just have to wait and see...**

 _Everything ached when she emerged from the hard substance called stone. She opened her eyes and looked around calmly, but it was dark. She couldn't even see her hand. She knew she was standing upright and that the space around her was large, judging by the echo when she shuffled her foot. But where was she? Who was she? What was she?_

~ Pearl ~

Pearl took one last look around at the field of wild fruit. Swords, axes, maces, and yellow strawberry seeds glinted in the sun. The gem sighed. The battle had taken place here thousands of years ago, but it was also one of the largest. She didn't think anyone would— _could_ —ever forget the sound of gems' physical forms being destroyed, the shriek as gems were shattered before their comrades' eyes.

A butterfly landed on a white flower, it's wings fluttering lightly as it collected nectar. A memory, fresher than that of the battle, surfaced. A boy, small and a bit chubby, with jeans, flip-flops, and a red shirt ran back and forth along the small trail that was clear of any vegetation. He was covered in strawberry juice and butterflies similar to the one on the flower.

Pearl giggled at the memory before activating the warp pad.

~ Garnet ~

Peridot stood on the coffee table in the living room, telling us gem stories. Ruby and Sapphire had already heard most of them on Homeworld, only the tales that Peridot spun were more modern interpretations.

"So the Howlite looked down on Goldstone's shattered gem and went to take revenge for her fallen comrade by-"

The warp pad activated, stopping Peridot from continuing with the overdramatic myth. As the streak of light cleared, there stood Pearl. There was a bit of bright red juice on the tip of her shoe, which was unusual given her constant caution and grace. But then again, she _had_ just been to the battlefield/strawberry field.

Garnet wasn't sure exactly why, but Pearl was always very shaken after they visited that place. Even with her Future Vision, she'd never been able to figure out what left the pale gem so rattled. It was a huge and violent battle, yes, but Garnet knew that Pearl had been through much, much worse than _that_.

The half of her that was Sapphire simply accepted that Future Vision couldn't show them what happened. It was probably because the reason Pearl was so traumatized after all these years, this secret, was kept too closely guarded for it to become common knowledge. Or maybe there _was_ no secret. Maybe Pearl had watched another Pearl she'd known from Homeworld be used as a shield before being broken. It'd happened many times when certain warriors came to earth with their Pearls in tow. The servants would get caught in the crossfire (and by that, she meant that they'd be used as shields) of the battles and not all rebels were sympathetic enough to the Homeworld Pearls to spare them.

The part of Garnet that was Ruby, however, wanted so very much to force Pearl to talk.

"Hi, Pearl!" Steven shouted excitedly. "How was the mission?"

"It went well," the gem replied as she walked quietly to the kitchen sink, which was full of dirty dishes. She continued to describe the old rebel base she'd found under a large patch of strawberries as she scrubbed at a plate, but Garnet wasn't listening. She was still thinking about the stain on Pearl's shoe.

"I've heard of that structure!" Peridot yelled, snapping Garnet out of her thoughts. "I read that it was so heavily fortified that even the legendary ghost of Black Diamond couldn't get in!"

"Black Diamond?" Steven asked. "Who's that?"

"Ya, Peri," Amethyst interjected. "Spill."

"You really don't _know_?" the small green gem cried.

"I've never heard of a Black Diamond either," Garnet commented. "How about you, Pearl?"

"I've heard the name a few times," Pearl said, not looking away from the cup she was drying. "Not much more than that, though."

"Ok, the legend of Black Diamond," Peridot began, as if she were a professor giving a lecture, "started millions of years ago..."


	2. Trauma

**Haru: I'm back!**

 **Pearl: Oh, good now you can tell us about what you plan to do to us.**

 **Haru: HAHA no.**

 **Amethyst: Can you tell us what the stuff at the beginning of the first chapter was?**

 **Haru: I would but IT'S TIME FOR THE CHAPTER!**

 _Light blossomed in front of her as she stepped forward, stinging her eyes and making her dizzy. She lost her balance and fell to her knees in front of the open door._

 _"We've been waiting for you to arrive," a low, regal voice said. "Stand, my sister."_

~ Steven ~

The door opened with a squeak. The damaged screen and old hinges needed to be replaced. I'd remind Dad later. I looked away from where I my fingers were pressed against the strings of my ukulele. Pearl was there with Connie, who was holding Mom's sword, at her side.

"Connie!" I shouted, jumping off of my bed and running down the stairs.

"Hi, Steven!" she said with a smile as I hugged her. "It's been so long!"

"Steven, weren't you supposed to be at the barn helping finish the drill?" Pearl asked.

"I was, but then it broke so Garnet brought me home," I explained.

"It _what_?!" Pearl screeched. "Connie, the sword lesson is going to have to wait." And then she was out the door.

"Steven, can I ask you something?" Connie asked after a moment. I nodded. "You have to promise not to get mad."

"Promise," I replied. "What is it?"

"Does...does Pearl seem a little, I don't know...out of it to you?"

"Oh, that," I began with a nod. "She's always like that after she goes to the strawberry field. She was just there yesterday so she's still a bit spacey."

"That big battlefield?" Connie asked. "How come?"

"I'm not sure," I said. "We should ask Garnet. She's still in her room, I think."

Right on cue, the door to the temple opened. Garnet stepped out and walked over to us, patting Connie's head it greeting.

"Garnet, do you know why—" I began.

"Steven, if I knew what was happening with Pearl, I'd tell you," she interrupted.

"Wait, you don't know?" Connie asked. "But what about your Future Vision?"

Garnet chuckled. "I can't see the past, Connie," she said. "I can only see the possible future outcomes. Pearl telling us why she's so traumatized isn't in a single one of them."

"Let's ask her then!" I suggested enthusiastically.

"Can't hurt," Garnet agreed with a nod.

~ Pearl ~

"And why wasn't Amethyst helping you with this, again?" I grunted to Peridot as we hauled a large piece of the scorched engine away from the drill.

"She went to get these so called " _doughnuts_ " just before the explosion," the small green gem replied.

"Of course she did," I muttered. "Ok, I think this is far enough."

Peridot dropped her end of the metal hunk with a loud clang. "Do you think we can fix it?" she asked. "You know Earth machinery better than I do."

I hummed in thought, my gaze sweeping over soot-coated metal. "The three springs in the middle might be broken and that hole in the tube needs to be fixed," I replied. "Other than that, everything needs to be cleaned so we can see how bad the damage is."

Peridot nodded and went into the barn to get a cleaning rag.

"Pearl!" Steven shouted from somewhere behind me.

I turned to see him running towards me with Connie and Garnet in tow.

"Have you guys seen Amethyst?" I asked as they reached me. "She left a little while ago and—"

"Pearl, we want to ask you something," Steven interrupted.

I raised an eyebrow in confusion while the kids steeled themselves for a harsh rejection. Garnet stood behind them with a small, hopeful smile. It was a strange look for her, since there wasn't much she needed to hope for. If she wanted something, she could have it without relying on others to help or waiting to receive it.

"What is it?" I asked finally with a sigh.

"Why does the strawberry field bother you so much?" Connie asked bluntly.

"It was a battlefield. I saw a lot of gems break there. That's all," I replied easily. It was a lie I'd been telling for so long that I almost convinced myself that this was the true reason. Almost.

Garnet chuckled. "You don't need to lie, Pearl," she said. "We know that you're hiding something bigger."

"Please tell us, Pearl?" Steven begged. "We wanna help."

"We won't judge you," Connie added.

"Whatever you did or you saw, it's all in the past now," Garnet agreed.

My fingers curled into fists at my side as anger bubbled up in me. How _dare_ they try to pry into my personal affairs?!

"Don't you think that I haven't told anyone anything in the last few thousand years for a reason?" I growled. "It's not something any of you would understand, much less be able to help with, so forget it."

"Pearl, that is no way to speak to Steven," Garnet scolded.

"And you have no right to be questioning me," I snapped back. "Now, I have a drill to fix."


	3. Let's Go

**Haru: I'm back!**

 **Pearl: You didn't need to make me so mean in that last chapter, you know.**

 **Haru: I'm trying to show that you don't wanna be bothered with this because you're hiding this big secret…**

 **Garnet: What secret?**

 **Pearl: Don't look at me. I have no idea what's going on.**

 **Haru: Anyways, thanks to my anonymous reviewers! Any comment is appreciated! Constructive criticism is welcomed. Now, ON TO THE CHAPTER!**

 _"Sister?" she asked the tall yellow gem before her. "Gems don't have sisters. Only other gems that are...the same kind."_

 _"Not us," she replied. "We are special. We rule the other gems. We are superior. We are perfect. We are Diamonds. And we are sisters."_

 _"I'm no Diamond," she whispered. "I am much too small."_

 _"You are different," the other Diamond explained. "You are too small to look like a Diamond, but you are big enough to look like a rare gem of noble status. You were made to keep the inferior ones in line. You are the spy, the soldier, our most valued sister. Now come into the light so that I may see you."_

~ Peridot ~

I sighed into the mirror of Steven's bathroom. The glass fogged up and I drew a small control panel in the moisture with my finger.

Pearl had been very...distracted and unhappy for the last two rotations—days, Steven called them. She came back to the temple with a mark on her foot and had remained distant until permafusion Garnet, Steven, and the Connie asked about it. I'd been in the back of the barn, but I still heard the argument. Pearl may have been the smartest of the Crystal Gems, but the way she spoke had confirmed any suspicions the other gems had about her " _trauma_."

However, I truly doubted that Pearl was capable of feeling traumatized over a battle that was much smaller than some of the others she'd participated in during the Earth rebellion. Maybe I could investigate the battlefield later. The old rebel base that was hidden there also sounded interesting, and it might provide clues. I'd just have to get its coordinates. Unless Pearl left it undisguised and I could find it on my own…

I hopped off the stool that had allowed me to reach the height of the mirror and walked out, intending to sneak over to the warp pad. Then I saw Pearl and permafusion Garnet talking rather angrily in the living room.

"I won't apologize for not wanting to discuss my personal problems, Garnet!" Pearl said in that high, strained voice of hers. Neither of the gems seemed to notice me.

"If you'd talk to us, you wouldn't have any personal problems in the first place," Garnet argued, tapping her foot impatiently.

"The problem isn't that _simple_ ," Pearl snapped back. "It's a difficult situation that has nothing to do with you."

"When it affects the strength of the team, it _does_ have to do with me!" she shouted, fingers curling into fists.

"Okay, let's get this straight," Pearl hissed in a low, dangerous tone that I'd never heard her use before. "Just because you're a fusion doesn't mean you can push me around. I was a servant since the moment I came out of my Kindergarten. I came with Rose, fought alongside Rose, betrayed everything and everyone I knew with Rose so that I didn't have to stand there with my head down and look pretty for everyone else's enjoyment anymore."

Garnet opened her mouth to speak, but was interrupted.

"So, no, I will not tell you," Pearl continued, returning back to her usual state of calm, composed, and mature in the blink of an eye. "This is my problem and I'm dealing with it the best I can, so don't worry about it." Then she turned and walked quietly, gracefully, out of the house.

The door slammed shut and I glimpsed Pearl walking down to the beach. Garnet sighed, catching my attention. Her shoulders slumped as if she were too tired to hold them up properly.

"You can come out now, Peridot," she mumbled, barely loud enough to be heard.

"I was just—"

"I know," Garnet interrupted. "You were going to use the warp to go see the battlefield to find out what's going on but you heard us talking and didn't want to get caught."

"Um...yes," I replied shakily. I hated Future Vision at times like these.

Garnet straightened up suddenly and turned towards me. "I'm coming too," she said.

"Wait, you _want_ to come?" I asked, not quite believing it. "But I thought Pearl didn't want you to know."

"Keeping secrets like this is _not_ acceptable for a Crystal Gem," she explained. "Now let's go."


	4. The Base - Part 1

_She stood and stepped forward into the light where the yellow gem could see her properly. She quickly took a look at her physical form. She wore a flowing black dress that hid her feet. It was sleeveless with a sweetheart neckline. There were black gloves on her hands that went up midway between her elbows and her shoulders._

 _Her gem, settled in just below the collarbone, was in the shape of a diamond. It looked to be made of black glass that sparkled in the bright light beyond the room. The little amount of skin that was exposed was an ashy gray._

 _When she looked up at the pale yellow diamond before her, she was smiling sweetly, gently. The gem raised her arm to show a small oval of reflective glass in her hand, surrounded by a thick frame of curling silver. She looked into the mirror and stared at her reflection._

~ Garnet ~

Peridot and I decided that searching for the base would have to wait until the next day, while Pearl took Steven and Connie to the cloud arena to work on combat practice. So the next morning Connie showed up for a quick breakfast before training. Peridot quickly went down to the beach and I waited by the door to the temple, leaning against the wall with a foot up against it.

"Ready, Connie?" Pearl asked coldly from her spot behind the counter, as if she were still angry with everyone for the day before.

"Yes ma'am," Connie replied shyly, Rose's sword in her hands.

Without another word, Pearl strode to the warp pad, nimble as ever. Steven and Connie scrambled after her hastily. After a quick wave in my direction, Steven activated the warp and they disappeared in a column of light. Peridot would see it from outside and come running up the steps in a few moments, so I walked onto the flat, shimmering surface and waited.

Just as predicted, the small green gem came stomping up the steps seconds later. She was still brushing grains of sand off her legs as she jumped up next to me.

"Ready, Peridot?" I asked, anxious to get to the old base. She nodded in response and I activated the warp pad.

~ Peridot ~

When we reached the base, I looked at it in shock. It was no more than a trap door in the ground. A rusted metal ladder led down into the darkness that concealed the secrets they were looking for.

"So, this is the legendary base I've been hearing about?" I asked. "It looks like a hole in the floor. It's probably full of worms too. What good could this possibly do during a revolution against all of gemkind? It's not really the masterpiece of engineering that I've been told about."

"Of course not," Garnet replied. "If it did, Homeworld would've discovered it a long time ago."

"Hm. I suppose," I muttered.

"This doesn't look stable enough to hold us," Garnet commented, kneeling down and tapping the top of the ladder lightly. Some of the rust fell away, revealing the hollow inside of the top rung. "How on _earth_ did Pearl get down?"

"Perhaps she used a different entrance?" I suggested.

"There are different doors like this all over the field, but this is the only one Pearl used," she explained.

"Oh," I breathed. "Then how do we get down if we can't use the ladder?"

"Like this," Garnet said, grabbing me around the waist and throwing me over her shoulder.

"Hey, what are you doing?" I shouted, kicking my legs in protest. "Put me down!"

"Sure," Garnet replied before she stepped to the edge of the hole. "Just as soon as we're at the bottom."

Then she jumped. I shrieked in surprise as a burst of panic swept through me, sending every sense on alert. Cold air rushed past me, ripping the sound away. As we fell farther, the light from the open hatch became a small speck. I found myself reaching for it desperately. Darkness was something most gems disliked, especially since the head of intel on Homeworld, Onyx, kept her offices lightless and secluded.

Onyx wasn't a gem that inspired you or made you feel brave and important. She was tall, even for a rare aristocrat gem-her chin would probably be at Garnet's nose-and she never revealed her abilities. She was downright scary, serious, and reclusive. All in all, she could be even more intimidating than Yellow Diamond, despite the difference in size and status.

Suddenly, Garnet landed on something with a jolt, sending her shoulder into my abdomen.

"Ow! You couldn't have been more careful?!" I yelled as Garnet lifted me off of her shoulder and lightly placed me on the floor.

It was too dark to see her or anything around us, but based on the long echoes as my voice ricocheted around us, the room we were in was fairly large.

"Follow me," she ordered, ignoring me completely.

"I can't follow you if I can't see you," I snapped back.

I heard Garnet span her fingers a few times before dim blue lights in the ceiling flickered on.

"Still works," she muttered triumphantly.

I looked around at the space we were in and found that it wasn't big at all. It was a small, oval-shaped room with the ladder at one end, two tunnels at each side, and a fifth passage parallel to the entrance. I activated my gem, adding a ghostly green to the weak blue of the luminescent crystals embedded into the stone above. Then I took a quick peek inside at one of the channels to my left to find a rusted door on either side of a long hallway that ended in yet another entryway ruined by years of neglect.

"Soldiers' quarters and weapon storage," Garnet told me from behind me. "Though, they should be empty."

"How come?" I asked. "Wouldn't some of the rebels have hid in here?"

"No, they would have come out a long time ago," Garnet explained. "Besides, I'd know if someone were here. Now let's figure out which direction Pearl went yesterday."


	5. The Base - Part 2

_She stared at her reflection for a moment. Her petite nose, sharp cheekbones, and golden irises, set in light gray eyes, were mesmerizing. Dark waves of hair framed her face, the front locks curling by her chin. She could feel the rest of her rippled hair brushing her lower back._

" _Sister, who am I?" she asked the yellow gem holding the mirror. "I mean-what is my name? What ability do I have?"_

" _I can tell you your name, but I do not know what power you possess," she replied, still smiling her soft, caring smile. "Though, I can tell you what my name and of my own prowess and expertise. I am Yellow Diamond, and I can create new technologies. I am also in a much smaller form now than I usually would be. But your arrival was worth shrinking for."_

" _That is quite interesting, Yellow Diamond," she said softly. "I look forward to seeing you in all of your true glory. Now what of_ my _name?"_

~ Pearl ~

Steven and Connie had done exceptionally well in their training session. _Not that I'll be saying so anytime today_ , I thought. Ever since the day before, when Garnet and the kids had asked about the strawberry field, I'd been on the defensive. It hadn't helped when they pressed for an answer, or when Garnet had tried to lecture me after.

I suddenly noticed that my face has scrunched up-whether in disgust or anger, I didn't know. Maybe both. But honestly, how could she just try to _make_ me tell her what was wrong? I wasn't her servant. I wasn't _anyone's_ servant anymore. She may have been the most powerful of the Crystal Gems, due to the face that she was such a stable fusion, and she may have been our unspoken leader, but I didn't _have_ to share anything I didn't want to.

"Pearl, when are we going back?" Steven called from where he and Connie were sitting, snacking on crackers and juice.

I ripped my eyes away from the clouds floating in the distance to look back at them. Connie was gently unwrapping juice-stained bandages from her hand. Steven was looking at me with…was that fear on his face?

"Whenever you two are ready, you can go back," I shouted over my shoulder. "I have a mission to go on before I come home."

Steven nodded in response and commenced to help Connie rewrap her hands.

I sighed, thinking back to the paper records I'd left behind in the base. I needed to go retrieve them before Garnet, Amethyst, and/or Peridot thought to go searching for whatever I was hiding in the dark stone catacombs.

"Actually, Steven, I'm going to head out now," I said as I bounded up the steps to get out of the arena.

"See you at home, Pearl," Steven replied sadly.

~ Garnet ~

We'd been wandering around the maze of rooms and hallways for over an hour. Pearl, Connie and Steven were bound to be back at the temple by now, and Pearl would find our absence suspicious. I'd foreseen her walking out of the cloud arena and into the temple, only to find us missing. Amethyst would tell her that we'd been missing since that morning and then Pearl would put the pieces together. She'd know where we were. The events after that were fuzzy, though, as if Pearl was evading my Future Vision.

I sighed, catching Peridot's attention.

"Are we lost yet?" she asked, as if she'd been suspecting this for quite some time.

"We're not lost, Peridot," I replied through gritted teeth. "I just don't know what we're looking for. Most of the rooms are empty."

"If _most_ of them are completely cleared, then why aren't we going to the rooms that have objects in them?!" she responded angrily.

I straightened suddenly. A memory of Rose mention something about leaving a few unimportant things behind in her quarters before we'd abandoned the base after the rebellion had ended.

"I know where to go now," I said quietly. "Thank you for reminding me, Peridot."

"Um...no problem?" she squeaked.

~ Pearl ~

I walked over to the hatch to find it open. Though this was what I'd anticipated, the sight of the uncovered pit was still met with a whiplash of fear. My body seized up and I felt sweat bead on my forehead, and it wasn't because of the midday sun. I leapt into the pit and my insides were thrown up against my throat as gravity yanked me down. The fall wasn't too long, but I didn't weigh much so I fell much slower than Garnet and Peridot would have, if they'd jumped like me.

I landed at the bottom lightly, barely stirring up dust, in a crouch. Without a moment to waste, I took off running in the direction of Rose's room.

 _Please let them have gone the wrong way, please let them have gone the wrong way, please let them have gone the wrong way_ , I chanted in my head. They couldn't find those pages. They'd read it, they'd put two and two together, they'd know everything, and they'd probably break me for not saying anything.


	6. Pages

**Haru: Hey guys! How's everyone doing?**

 **Pearl: You made me look so mean…**

 **Haru: Sorry, Pearl, but it's for the plot. Anywho, just wanted to check in with all of you lovely readers out there. If you're liking the story please feel free to leave a review or write me a P/M. Same to people who have suggestions for the plot or other stories you'd like for me to write. Criticism is also very much appreciated.**

 _Pearl was quite ecstatic that day, with an assignment directly from White Diamond herself. Well, it wasn't exactly an assignment-it was more of a_ re _assignment. The Diamond had wanted to give a friend of hers a gift, and she had said "What better way to bring my friend joy than with the most exquisite of Homeworld's Pearls to decorate her room with?"_

 _To be called Homeworld's most exquisite Pearl was quite an honor, and White Diamond was known for anything_ but _giving out compliments. The whole "decorate the room" thing was never her favorite part of the reassignment, since she knew she was so much more useful as an assistant than as a statue. She could file things, run errands, and entertain perfectly well. What she was going to be doing was up to her new master, she supposed._

 _But at least she would've have to watch the Diamonds break guilty gems anymore._

~ Garnet ~

"Welcome to Rose's old room, Peridot," I said with a grand sweep of my arm. Peridot stared at the room in awe. Though most of the pink in the floor tiles was faded, as were the magenta accents of the walls, the space still help a certain elegance and beauty to it.

My eyes swept along the far wall, where there were three arches side by side. Each opening led to a different part of Rose's space. The one to the left had been her private armory before she moved everything out. The one in the middle led to a conference room and another exit beyond. The one to the right was a private space for Rose's most valuable possessions. I'd never been inside, but I knew that she kept some priceless objects there. I believed that she had said she'd hidden some of Homeworld's most precious documents somewhere.

"That one," I said, pointing to the right archway. "Let's go in that room."

~ Pearl ~

I raced through the maze of stone halls, following the single line of glowing blue crystals. Wherever Garnet and Peridot went, the stones were lit. I hoped they didn't know where to go. I silently begged for the trail to go off in a different hallway. Though I began to lose hope as I got closer and closer to Rose's room.

~ Garnet ~

It wasn't difficult to find the documents. Pearl seemed to have found them and left them out. They were separated into five short piles on the desk in the back. There were another few stacks of old books beside the stone furniture. A half-emptied bookcase, completely covered in dust but for the places where books had been dragged out. Everything had been thinly layered with a type of plastic that they used on Homeworld to preserve things.

I picked up a book off the top of the tallest of Pearl's piled and opened it to a random page. When I saw the sharp, stiff hand-writing, I realized that this wasn't an informational book, but a journal. The page I was on was in the middle of an entry, so I turned back a few pages so that I could start from the beginning. It read:

 _Log date: 18 62 63858 - I still feel guilty after the raid. It seems that we broke the wrong gem, and now the Diamonds as well as the Pearl we thought we were rescuing are hunting us. They all have their reasons to want us broken for our crimes, I suppose. The Diamonds had thought of this gem as one of their own. The Pearl's reason in particular is easy enough to figure out. Her master was kind to her. She didn't make the Pearl stand on a pedestal in a rather insulting pose like most noble gems did. The Pearl was treated kindly, like an equal, which I didn't expect from an aristocrat favored by the Diamonds. But she's broken now and, as far as we have heard, none of the Rose Quartzes have been able to fix her. But that's not surprising. Even I, the most powerful healer of the Rose Quartzes, couldn't repair a shattered gem. If only I'd destroyed just her physical form instead of throwing mallet against her gem. Maybe then we wouldn't be in such a horrid situation. Maybe we could've used the gem as a bargaining chip. We could've held her for ransom. Great Diamonds, I don't even know that poor gem's name. How could I-_

Suddenly, the log book was snatched from my hands. I looked up to see Pearl, glaring at me as she shut the book and put it back on the pile. I glanced behind her see Peridot cowering by the bookshelf.

"I don't appreciate you messing with my organization, Garnet," she said venomously.

"We wouldn't have had to if you'd told us what was bothering you in the first place," I replied, calm as ever.

"And did you figure out why I hate this battlefield so much?" she asked, knowing that I still had no idea.

I took an extra moment to check my Future Vision, only to find that Pearl still wouldn't be telling us what was going on anytime soon. In fact, she'd be leaving the temple sometime tomorrow to come back and read through a few of the logs.

"No," I replied through gritted teeth.

"Exactly," Pearl snapped, as if she'd been expecting this. "Now if you could _please_ go back to the temple now, I'd appreciate it."

I felt anger rising in me, but knew that an outburst wouldn't help. It might actually make things so much worse. So I told myself that I'd let my anger out in some way that didn't involve shouting at Pearl. I turned to leave, snatching up Peridot and holding her at my side like I used to do with Steven when he was in trouble for something.

Once we were out of Rose's room, the small green gem spoke. "She's scary when she's mad," she whispered, her voice shaking.

"Not really," I lied.


	7. Rose's Journals

_Pearl entered the hallways that led to her new master's office. It was very dimly lit, the soft gray light shrouding the corners with shadow. She looked at the walls curiously, as they were a simple, solid matte black instead of an extravagant piece of colorful art like the walkways in the Diamonds' quarters. Pearl wondered why, in addition to the simplicity of the walls, it was so dark. It was always full of light on Homeworld unless darkness was necessary for a holographic presentation or something or that nature._

 _Pearl sighed as she reached the end of the hallway. Before her stood a dark gray door that was just light enough to be seen against the black walls. You wouldn't have noticed it unless you knew what to look for. Pearl knocked lightly on the door with the back of her hand and waited for it to slide open. When it didn't, she tried knocking a little harder. She waited a few minutes, only to get the same response._

" _Hello?" she called. "Um, I'm the Pearl sent by White Diamond. Is anyone in there?"_

~ Steven ~

I walked through the front door to find Pearl sitting on the couch, the table littered with stacks of paper and old leather books. She held a few of the sheets in her hands, looking at them with a critical eyes.

"What are all those for, Pearl?" I called. She jumped, sending sheets of paper flying.

The pale gem looked around in surprise, trying to find the source of the noise. When her eyes landed on me she instantly relaxed. "Oh, it's just you," she breathed before reaching for a few of the fallen sheets of paper. "Aren't you supposed to be spending the day with your dad today, Steven?"

"Well, Dad had a bunch of customers so I decided to come home," I explained as she grabbed another sheet or two.

"I see," Pearl replied as she straightened the pages and squared them off before standing to pick up the sheets of paper on the other side of the table. "So what are you going to be doing the rest of the day?"

I hummed in thought, looking over Pearl's array of books and paper. "Do you want help with what you're doing?" I asked.

Pearl looked between me and the leather-bound books. "I don't think that you should be reading this, Steven," she answered slowly, putting the last sheets of fallen paper back into the pile.

"Awww, please, Pearl?" I whined. "I wanna help!"

"Steven, it's just some old gem stuff," she said, flipping a page that had been turned upside down. "It won't interest you."

"Let him help," Garnet's voice interjected from behind. I whipped around to find her standing over me in the doorway. "It's not like reading Rose's journals is going to hurt him."

"My mom had journals?!" I asked in excitement, looking back and forth between the two gems.

"No, Steven. They belonged to a different Rose Quartz a very, very long time ago," she explained with a disgusted grimace, as if she disliked this other Rose Quartz. "Your mother didn't write them."

"Pearl," Garnet began with a warning in her voice, "you should let him read them instead of lying about who they belonged to."

Pearl rolled her eyes and activated her gem. A white beam of light encircled the table and the stacks of paper and books began to glow. In a flash of light, they were gone.

"Pearl, you bring those back right now!" Garnet shouted angrily. "They belong to Steven!"

"These weren't written by our Rose," Pearl insisted. "Our Rose wasn't _this_ barbaric."

"Rose wasn't barbaric at all! And how would _you_ know who wrote them?" the tall fusion questioned.

"Well, for one thing, Rose told me," Pearl said, venom in her voice. "For another, I knew the gem who wrote them. That Rose passed them on to another Rose, who gave them to our Rose before they were broken, and then our Rose gave them to me since I was the only one she trusted with these. I just never had a reason to look at them until Peridot made contact with Homeworld."

"This has nothing to do with Homeworld!" Garnet yelled in frustration. "You're just making excuses to keep Rose's things to yourself."

Pearl's anger seemed to dissolve into shock. "So that's what you think of me," she murmured, shifting her gaze to the floor.

"Garnet, I think you went a little far," I whispered, my ears still a little tingly from all of the shouting.

"I'll just...go help with the drill, then," Pearl said, suddenly her usual, confident self. It was almost as nothing had happened. "I'll be back by dinner." She smiled lightly and walked past us with her cat-like grace, barely making a sound.

~ Amethyst ~

"But I still don't understand!" Peridot cried. "Why do you need to see my weapon?"

"Because, you're a Crystal Gem now," I replied, smirking in amusement. "And you've seen all of ours so it's only fair."

Peridot's face darkened with irritation and frustration. She opened her mouth to argue, but stopped, glancing behind me. I turned to see Pearl, looking unusually jumpy, walking over. Her gem was a little darker than usual, meaning she was storing a lot of stuff in it.

"Hey, P!" I called. She smiled and waved as she walked over. "What're you keeping in that gem of yours?"

She raised a perfect eyebrow in confusion as she stopped in front of us. "How did you know I'm storing things in my gem?" she asked in response.

I rolled my eyes and smiled. "Pearl, we've fused enough for me to know," I said. "Speaking of knowing you, what's wrong?"


	8. Opal

_Pearl sighed and decided that she should go inside, just to see if she could clean the office a little as a surprise for new master of hers. She was about to activate the door when she noticed that there was no control panel. The usual scuff marks along the floor next to where the door slid aside were missing as well. Then she eyed a small black handle on the door's right side. This was one of the doors you had to open with a handle. Pearl hadn't seen one of these since before she began working in White Diamond's office. These were so much more primitive compared to the ones with bright control panels and gem scanners that Yellow Diamond had had installed everywhere in Homeworld's Diamond Palace._

 _But this wing of the Palace was been so dark, it was as if it was abandoned so of course there wouldn't be advanced tech._

 _Pearl shrugged-it wasn't her business if this particular noble didn't want automatic doors installed-and grabbed the handle. She gave it a small push and it swung open, banging against a wall. As Pearl looked around the room, she realized that all the lights inside weren't activated. With an exasperated sigh, she snapped her fingers in an attempt to turn the light crystals on._

~ Amethyst ~

After Pearl sent Peridot away, I sat down with my legs crossed.

"So spill," I said, resting my cheek in my palm. "What's going on?"

Pearl, taking an interest in her shoes, wouldn't meet my eyes. A dark blue blush spread on her face as she opened her mouth. "It's...complicated," she answered finally.

"Well it's good that I don't have to be anywhere," I said.

"If I tell you, you can't tell Garnet," she chuckled.

"No problem. I keep stuff from Garnet all the time," I replied with a shrug.

~ Garnet ~

"I'm still not sure I understand," I said to Peridot for the what felt like the fifth time as I placed her on top of the kitchen counter to face her better.

"Oh for-! Pearl is going to tell Amethyst what she's been hiding!" the small green gem shouted back. "You know, the big secret that she won't even tell her _leader_!"

"I'm not the leader," I muttered, though I knew that this wasn't true in certain ways.

"How come she's telling Amethyst?" Steven asked from next to the stove, where he was making pasta. The steady rumble of the boiling water was something of a comfort.

"You've seen Opal," I replied, finally processing Peridot's information. "She's as stable as I am for a reason."

"And why is that?" Peridot asked flatly, not bothering to cover the irritation that the subject of fusion caused her.

"Pearl and Amethyst are complete opposites, just like Sapphire and Ruby, so Opal is an easy form for them to maintain," I explained. "It's like when they say opposites attract."

"Ooooooh, I see," Steven drawled with a mischievous smile.

I narrowed my eyes at the expression, wondering what the child could've possibly done. "Steven, what did you do?" I asked.

"Nothing," he answered innocently. "But you said that Pearl and Amethyst are _just like Ruby and Sapphire_ so…"

I sighed and shook my head, knowing where the little boy was heading with this. "Steven, you know that Pearl and Amethyst don't quite love each other like Ruby and Sapphire do. If they did, Opal would be around a lot more often."

Steven was quick to lose his excitement, but it came back as easily as it had gone. "But they _could_ eventually!" he exclaimed. "I mean, Garnet, you had to reform a few times before you decided not to unfuse, right? So maybe-"

"Wait, what's going on?" Peridot interrupted, jumping off her perch on the counter. "Are you saying that Amethyst is going to become part of a permafusion too?! Oh, this is a disaster!"

"No it's not," Steven argued. "This is going to be amazing! I love having Opal around!"

" _I_ don't!" Peridot shouted back.

"What's this about Opal?" a voice interrupted.

We all swiveled around to see Pearl and Amethyst standing in the doorway, smiling in amusement. I hadn't foreseen them showing up when they did. Strange. What about this information was so top secret that even my Future Vision couldn't pick it up? Would Amethyst be able to tell me later, or would she just dodge any questions I'd ask?

"Awww you guys aren't fused," Steven whined.

Amethyst rolled her eyes and moved to get around Pearl, her eyes glued to the fridge.

"Of course we aren't fused," Pearl laughed, shaking her head. "Why would we do that?"

Steven opened his mouth to respond, but I quickly cut him off with a hand over his mouth. Pearl and Amethyst didn't need to know that Steven thought they loved each other; they might take offense to it. After all, Pearl had loved Rose for so long, whereas she argued with Amethyst almost constantly. Unless they were discussing highly "personal" business, of course. And there were things that Amethyst couldn't _stand_ about Pearl that would definitely keep her from feeling such an attraction.

So, no, they would never feel the same as Sapphire and Ruby.


	9. Unknown

_Pearl swore when the light crystals didn't activate, making a mental note to have a few yellow gems come in and take a look at the lights in this sector of the Palace. Maybe there was a lantern somewhere in the room, or perhaps a few backup light crystals in a storage bubble. She sighed. Maybe she should just call the yellow gems now instead of going to fix things herself. But then her new master would come to their quarters, expecting a shimmering room and a top-notch Pearl, only to be disappointed with darkness and a servant too afraid of failing to fix the lights on her own._

 _She huffed with a renewed determination. She wouldn't disappoint her new master. Pearl took a few steps inside, keeping her hand against a wall leading off the the right. Her progress was slow, as she kept checking for something in front of her before taking each step. She also trailed her fingers along the wall, hoping to find a lamp or other light source hanging on the thick walls._

 _After a few minutes she sighed, coming to the conclusion that nothing was on or against the wall. Pearl stepped away from it and moved towards the center of the room-or where she assumed was the center. Suddenly her foot hit something solid that'd been on the floor, and it was only then that she realized she'd stopped checking for objects in her path. She shrieked as she fell forward, bracing herself so the hard landing wouldn't rattle her too much._

 _But before she could hit the ground, someone caught her._

~ Steven ~

The streak of light cleared, leaving Connie and I alone on a warp pad. We were greeted by the clear night air of the crystal island. Connie looked around, drinking in the sight of huge leaves and tall trees.

"Wow," she breathed. "I don't know why Lars wouldn't like this place. It's gorgeous!"

"You haven't even seen the rest of the island yet," I chuckled.

"Yeah, but the flowers are just so pretty!" she exclaimed, pointing at a bright blue hibiscus flower, it's stamen shining with a soft yellow light. "Not to mention unusual. Do _all_ the flowers on this island glow?"

I hummed, trying to think back to the days I'd spent with Sadie and Lars. I didn't remember glowing flowers, but they might not have been in bloom at the time. "I don't think so," I replied. "But the animals are always smiling and happy! Until we spear them, at least. Wanna go explore?"

"Sure!" Connie said, grabbing my arm and leading me away from the warp pad.

~ Unknown ~

 _Earth is a beautiful place_ , Rosalinda had said a few hours earlier. _I hope we get to see more of it. Do you think we will, Mistress?_

 _Of course we will, Rosa_ , I had responded. _We have to find Peridot and a few of the things that the rebels stole before the revolution began, so we'll be wandering around the planet for a while. Plus, it could be many more rotations before we even find a warp pad. You should have plenty of time to study organic life, I'm sure._

 _It's not just the organic life I'd like to observe, ma'am._

I sighed, staring out at the ocean. My gaze swept over the waves as sea spray showered the sand in front of me. I flinched away from it. Water so unruly should've been tamed, in my opinion.

Speaking of unruly, I could sense two gems hiding beneath the water somewhere nearby. Well, one was struggling to be free while the other was holding them hostage in a fused state. They'd been there since we'd landed on the planet and hadn't really moved much. I wasn't sure how one could keep such complete control like this over a fusion so horribly unstable. While their partner struggled to be free from them, no less. But then again, I hadn't fused in _well_ over a million of this earth's years. I couldn't possibly understand it, even if I read every article on fusion.

I dipped a foot in the water to find that it was surprisingly warm. The water swayed around me with the gentleness of a breeze. Though, I supposed that it was only expected of tropical waters. Maybe a swim would relax some of my nerves.

~ Connie ~

I sucked in a surprised breath, taking in the beach as Steven and I pushed aside the last bush connecting the treeline. White sand glittered in bright moonlight and the waves were a clear blue-green. Seashells small and large popped up at random beneath the water and on the shore.

"So...do you like it?" Steven asked timidly.

I turned to him with a huge smile stretched across my face. "Of course I do!" I cried. "Steven, why haven't we come here before?"

My friend chuckled and turned back to the water. "Well, I wanted to wait until the weather was right and-IS THAT A PERSON?!" he shouted, pointing to the water off to our right.

I whipped around and scanned the gentle waves, searching for anything out of the ordinary. Sure enough, a dark figure was floating on top of the water in the direction Steven had indicated.

"We have to go help them!" he exclaimed, taking off at a run. I followed closely behind, my sneakers sinking into the sand with every step.


	10. First Contact

_Pearl stood on wobbly legs and looked to the open door, desperately wanting to run towards it. She yanked her arms back, but whoever had her held firm. As she opened her mouth to shout for help-though she knew it was probably useless-the door slammed shut. A whimper of fear escaped her as her captor tugged her forward. The hand on her left arm tightened while the other let go. Cold fingers pushed her chin up and she flinched at the contact. The heat between her and the other gem was sucked away as her captor leaned forward._

 _"What are you doing here?" a voice rasped, as if it had not been used in a long time._

 _"I-I was sent by White Diamond," Pearl squeaked, panic seizing her chest._

 _"Why?" the voice whispered curiously, strangely devoid of malice._

 _"I'm a gift for the noble that works here," she replied, her voice quiet and shaking as she tried to get a hold on her fear. "Onyx."_

 _The gem let go of her arm._

~ Unknown ~

The water on Earth gave me a sort of buoyancy that I couldn't find on Homeworld. Not only that, but it blocked out most of the sounds of the island when I submerged my ears. Well, it did unless there was something else in the water nearby. I discovered this when I heard Rosa running through the water towards me. I was face down in the water, so it was easy enough for me to glance over and see her feet moving as she ran, breaking the water's surface again and again. The sound of her plunging into the sea as she sped forward began to grow louder as she drew nearer.

Why was she running to me? Was there something wrong? Did she find the warp pad? Were the other gems on the island?!

She stopped next to me and a second set of feet shot through the water in front of my face. It was a human, from what I could tell. Dark skin, thin legs; a young human girl originating southern or western Asia, probably. Maybe she was the reason Rosa was running at me? I gazed at her curiously for a moment until Rosa suddenly grabbed my upper arms and yanked my out of the water.

I felt the water fall from my face, hair, and body. I snapped my head upwards, preparing to scold Rosa for pulling me out of the warm, calming water. However, when I looked around, I saw the human girl, clad in shorts made of denim and a loose gray spaghetti-strap shirt. Her dark hair was in a long braid down her back, and she looked rather excited for a moment when she saw me. Then her excitement turned to fear.

"Steven, it's a gem!" she screeched.

I turned to look at Rosa, to tell her to make the child go home to her family. But when I looked at the gem holding my arm, I found that it wasn't my Rosa. It was a young human boy with a mop of unruly, curling dark brown hair. He had soft features and a rounder body, though you could see the muscle beneath the fat. His shirt was red with a yellow star in the center and he wore denim pants that stopped just past his knees. The boy, however gave off the energy of a Rose Quartz, which I supposed was why I'd thought it was Rosa running towards me.

The boy, Steven, I assumed, looked at me in horror. He dropped my arm as if my skin was hot to the touch and turned to run for the girl. Scowling, I grabbed his arm before he could take a single step. With a sweep of my free arm, I grabbed the girl as well and tucked them both beneath my arms.

"And just _where_ do you think you're going?" I growled, standing up in the water. The children began to struggle and grunt, kicking and scratching me. I shook my head at them, unimpressed. Their attempts to hurt me actually sort of...tickled.

The girl stopped for a moment, thinking. Then her hands, balled into fists, rushed at my arm. I looked down at her curiously, wondering what her strikes could possibly do to me. They certainly weren't effective; all they really did was irritate.

"Let us go!" she shouted. "Steven, call lion or something!"

Steven, who was panting and feebly batting at my hand around his middle, wheezed, "Connie, the gems..."

 _Gems, huh?_ I thought. _Do they mean Peri, Lapis, and Jasper?_

The girl, Connie, didn't seem to hear him. She just kept swinging her fists at me until she too was out of breath.

"Are you two done yet?" I asked, glancing between them. "I have a few questions I'd like to ask, if you don't mind."

"We're not telling you anything!" Steven shouted with renewed energy. "Connie, go!"

Connie suddenly arched her back and pushed against my arm. I dropped her in surprise and she fell into the shallow water. She quickly stood and turned around. The girl started to run, finally listening to Steven's command. I snatched her up before she could get out of reach.

"Nobody's going anywhere until I get my answers," I said, tucking her back under my arm, holding them tighter this time. I trudged the few steps up to the shore, shivering as a breeze hit my wet body.

"Forget it, you stupid Homeworld gem!" Connie shouted. She was almost as irritating as the sand clinging to my feet. "You're not going to get anything out of us!"

"Ya," Steven agreed. "Homeworld gems are trying to use the Cluster to destroy earth!"

I stopped. We were halfway to the tree line, where I could use the glowing flowers to signal Rosa so she could come help me bring the children back to our small camp. The Diamonds were supposed to have shut the Cluster down by now. Yellow Diamond herself had said that she'd remotely disabled the beast. I'd even had Pink Diamond send a squad to confirm that the signal had gone through. The four rubies and single Peridot had marched to my offices and personally assured me that the Cluster was dead (figuratively, of course, since the Cluster hadn't ever really been alive).

I needed the earth to be intact while I searched it and while Rosa checked to see if there really were any resources worth saving. Peri had seemed very convinced that there were, since she thought it was important enough to call Yellow Diamond a "clod" to her face.

But perhaps I could use the earthens' lack of knowledge about the Cluster's current condition to my advantage.

"Actually, kids, I came to slow the Cluster's progress," I lied.

Steven and Connie stopped squirming almost immediately.

"Why would Homeworld want to slow the Cluster down?" Connie asked cautiously.

"How about this: you ask me a question and I'll answer, then I ask you a question and you'll answer," I suggested.

"Only if you put us down," Steven replied.

"I'll put you down if you promise not to run away," I said.

"Deal," Connie said.


	11. Onyx

" _I'm Onyx," the gem lied. She looked down at the Pearl as her eyes widened. This servant was a gift from her sister, White Diamond, and the imposter-Onyx didn't have the heart to send the Pearl back. White Diamond may have been her opposite in more ways than one, but the two were so close that they could've been twins._

" _Oh," the Pearl said in surprise. "I, uh, I apologize for, um, entering unannounced, Master."_

 _Onyx shrugged, though she knew Pearl probably couldn't see it. "It's fine, I suppose," she replied quietly. "It's my fault for ignoring you when you knocked."_

" _Oh, no, I should've brought some sort of light inside so I could see before barging in," Pearl insisted. Onyx shrugged again. "Um, if you don't mind my asking, Master...why are the lights off?"_

" _Because touching the light hurts."_


	12. Code M-2

**Hello, readers! How's everyone doing? So, I went on a bit of a hiatus and i appologize for not giving enough warning. It started with some writer's block and at one point I completely forgot to continue writing! Anyways, this chapter has been sitting on my computer for a while, so I decided to finish it up and post it.**

" _Touching light...hurts?" the Pearl asked incredulously._

 _Onyx shook her head, trying to clear up the anxiety building up inside. Other gems didn't visit her. Other gems didn't get this close without backing away immediately after. Other gems didn't touch her without shrieking in pain. Why was this Pearl...ok? Why did White Diamond even send her a servant in the first place?_

" _Yes," she said quietly. "So don't turn them on."_

" _But I can't see in the dark," the Pearl protested. "How can I be of use without my sight?"_

~ Connie ~

When Steven and I went to rescue the person floating face down in the ocean, neither one of us had expected a Homeworld gem. Much less one as stunningly beautiful as this one, with irises that glowed gold against dark gray scleras. Her cheekbones were high and sharp, complimenting her perfect button nose. Waves of black hair fell against ashy-colored shoulders and framed her face.

Where her breasts would've been, had she been a human, was covered by a black halter crop-top that stuck so closely to her skin that there weren't even any bends in the cloth. A matching black skirt with the looseness of a slip knot fell low on her hips and swept over her ankles. She had the curves of an anime character (which I was a little jealous of until I reminded myself that she was a Homeworld gem). She wore no shoes and her gem was nowhere to be seen, but the visible parts of her skin were as gray and smooth as stone.

I found myself almost mesmerized by her as she spoke to us on the beach, answering our questions while we answered hers.

"Why is Homeworld planning to shut down the Cluster?" Steven asked seriously as we sat down on the beach, crossing his arms.

"There were some things that were stolen before the Earth revolution that the Diamonds would very much like to have back," Onyx explained. "Where is the warp pad on this island?"

"It's not far from here," I said. "You just need to go into the forest and follow the path. What are the Diamonds looking for specifically?"

"Well, they want some old records," Onyx shrugged. "They didn't tell me what the records are on. Just that they're the key to finding something that's missing. Now, why is there a fusion at the bottom of the ocean?"

"Fusion?" I asked, turning to Steven for an answer.

He'd gone pale and his jaw dropped. Sweat beaded on his forehead.

"Th-that's Malachite..." he whispered in bewilderment.

"I don't really care about her name. Why is she down there?" Onyx questioned impatiently, tapping her foot against the sand.

"Onyx," Steven began, voice shaking, "how did you know about-"

"Mistress!" a high-pitched female voice screeched.

Onyx sighed. "What is it, Rosa?" she shouted back.

"We had a Code M-2! We have to go!" she voice shouted nervously. "As in, right now!"

The gem beside us growled and stood, brushing off sand. "Coming," she called to the voice in the forest. Then she turned to us. "Excuse me. I'm needed."

"Why?" Steven asked, grasping a fistful of Onyx's skirt.

"You're not going to just leave us here without deactivating the cluster!" I exclaimed.

"Kid, I can't shut the cluster down from here anyways," she replied calmly, ripping her skirt away from Steven's grasp. "It's a complicated process and I don't have the time to sit around and deactivate it. I've got an issue to deal with."

Onyx flipped her hair over her shoulder in irritation and stalked off towards the forest.

"Wait!" I cried. "You can't just leave us! What if the cluster activates?"

"Then you'd be in big trouble," Onyx called nonchalantly over her shoulder, waving a hand in the air dismissively.


	13. Take Off

**Hey, readers! How's everyone doing? So, before we start the chapter, I have a little announcement. Due to the release of new episodes of Steven Universe, I will not be updating much until the Steven bomb ends. I'm really sorry about that. I'm not too happy about it either, especially since my writers' block** ** _just_** **went away! I might do little snippets of Onyx's backstory here and there, but other than that, no full-length chapters. Again, I'm so sorry about that!**

 **But before you read this last chapter (at least for a while), I'd like to give a shoutout to** **everyone who has posted a review, followed, or favorited this story! Seeing that people are giving feedback (positive feedback, no less!) really makes my day! And I'm not just saying that. It really makes me SUPER happy to see that people find my writing, however** **amateur-ish it may seem, entertaining.**

 **Ok, I'll stop taking up your time. Please enjoy the chapter!**

 _Onyx sighed, not knowing what to do. She didn't usually have to deal with servants bustling in and out of her lightless chambers, but this Pearl would change that. She would disrupt every event that was to occur in that corner of the palace starting at that moment. Onyx knew it, Pearl knew it, and White Diamond most_ certainly _knew it, yet she'd sent this gem anyway. It wasn't that there was anything extraordinary about this Pearl for her to be able to change everything. In fact, she looked much like all the other Pearls wandering the palace, with her long, curled hair and thick dress._

 _It was just that Onyx had a set routine for everything and was rather incapable of performing her duties well in light. This Pearl, with her lack of ability to see in the dark, would be like having a crippling defect._

 _The dark gem sighed. It was either Onyx suffer a little drowsiness and a few migraines or this Pearl sit in a pitch-black corner for the rest of her servitude._

 _Onyx snapped her fingers and a small light crystal the size of her finger lit up in its small jar on the desk._

~ Onyx's Point of View ~

"So what's a code M-2 again?" I asked Rosa once the ship had left the atmosphere.

The small pink gem's footsteps echoed in the large sitting room as she paced. The sound and the light and Rosa's face were beginning to give me anxiety. My hands were shaking and chills were running up and down my back.

"It means that there was a Mystic Topaz breakout," she explained. "Those monstrosities got loose and wreaked havoc around the palace. They damaged the Cluster control panel."

"O-oh. Shoot," was all I managed to sputter out. "Uh…"

"Anyways," Rosa continued without giving me lack of speech a second thought, "they broke something and the Cluster was reactivated. The technicians said that they don't know if they can fix it in time."

"So...Earth will be destroyed?" I asked quietly.

"Yes," Rosa said before stopping and turning to face me. "What were the Diamonds having you look for anyway, Lady Onyx?"

I sighed, taking a seat on the sofa and pulling my knees to my chest. "Nothing, Rosa," I whispered. "It wasn't essential. It wasn't important."

 _Only a partial lie_ , I thought to myself sadly. _I miss it. I want it back. It was mine and Rose Quartz took it from me. Now I'm going to go for an eternity without it…_

~ Connie's Point of View ~

I curled myself into a tighter ball under the comforter. I'd woken up from another nightmare about the Cluster. But how could I _not_ have nightmares about it? It was constantly on my mind, always lurking behind my thoughts.

My parents had seen my unease at dinner and in my reluctance to go to bed. They'd tried to ask what was wrong but the idea of telling them and making them worry made me feel sick. So sickness is what I went with.

"I'm probably just coming down with something," I'd told them. "No big deal. It should be gone by morning."

But now it was 5:28 and I was awake. My mind was still replaying the dream again and again.

 _The gold eyes, the ashy skin, the flowing skirt of Onyx, her arms raised as she cackled, like a cartoon villain. I saw the ground splitting in half and a giant creature climbing out of the ruins. Lava gushed around its crystal feet and geysers of boiling water sent showers of droplets down on it. Light sparkled on its glassy, rainbow colored gem-shard scales._

 _The Cluster roared and stood on two enormous feet, raising shimmering claws and showcasing teeth made of sharpened minerals. Suddenly, it plucked something from the air, and I knew that it was Steven._

 _He shrieked, calling for Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl. As he started to call my name, the Cluster's jaws, beautiful as they were deadly, clamped shut._

~ Priyanka's Point of View ~

Connie wasn't sick. I _knew_ what sick looked like. I dealt with sick every day. I may not have known my daughter as well as I would've liked, but I knew when she was sick.

Connie was not sick.


	14. Author's Notice

Hi, everyone! so sorry to have not uploaded in so long.

I would like to inform you all that I will no longer be posting this story here. I have switched my primary fanfiction site to Archive of Our Own (AO3 for short) and will be posting this story there from now on. I will update weekly. I have also made some alterations to the story in accordance with some developments made in recent episodes. I am under the same user name and this story's title has not changed.

I am so sorry for any inconvenience this might cause, but I have come to prefer AO3. Please do not let this deter you from continuing to follow _I Am Broken_ as the plot develops. I will be updating every Tuesday.

Thank you! :)


End file.
